June 17th
by Rorrim J. Tori
Summary: Every year, Ichigo skips school the same day; and every year his friends pretend that this is normal.


Wow. I'm not dead. How many years has it been since I've posted anything? I found a bunch of old unfinished stories laying around, so I thought I'd polish them up and post them.

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June 17th.

The day was seemed almost separated from time. No matter what changed from year to year, everyone effortlessly fell into the same routine around that date.

On the sixteenth, Ichigo would come to school with an unnatural smile, responding with "I'm fine" to anyone who asked how he is. His friends pretended it was normal.

On the seventeenth, Ichigo wouldn't be in school. The teacher won't comment on his absence, and the rest of the students would avoid mentioning it. Even those who didn't know why he was gone knew better than to ask.

The next day, he would be back with his usual scowl and everything would be back to normal until the next year rolls around. No one would question him about it, and he wouldn't draw attention to it.

So when the seventeenth of June rolled around again, everyone was ready to play their part. Everything was going smoothly; Rukia took extra care to leave the house without disturbing Ichigo and met up with the rest of their friend group to walk to school. No one mentioned what day it was. They all knew already.

The school day passed slowly, a heavy tension in the air as the group at their lunch, despite their best efforts to create a carefree atmosphere. Jokes that usually would garner at least a few laughs received little more than a smile. They eventually gave up on conversation, eating their lunches in uncomfortable silences.

Rukia walked home alone.

Isshin greeted her at the door. "Rukia! My wonderful third daughter has returned!"

She couldn't help the small smile that graced her features at his antics. He asked about school and she responded positively, making her way into the house and greeting Yuzu and Karin along the way.

"Where's Ichigo?" Rukia's eyes scanned the living room, expecting to find him sprawled out on the couch, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Isshin's enthusiasm dropped, "Sleeping." He rubbed a hand over his eyes. "I want to ask you, could you keep an eye on him for me? This last year has been exceptionally rough on him. With all that happened with the war and his powers... He's tough, don't get me wrong... but I'm worried about him."

Rukia nodded, sitting down on the couch and opening up one of her textbooks. She would go check on her friend later.

Night rolled around quickly and Rukia eased the door to Ichigo's room open. Stepping silently into the room, she a second for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She could just make out Ichigo's sleeping form laying atop his bed. With a soft smile, Rukia slid open the closet door and crawled into the familiar space. It had been a while since she had spent the night here. Since the wars had ended, she had been taken in as a semi-permanent resident to the Kurosaki household. Isshin had converted his personal office into a spare room for her. But tonight called for something different.

Ichigo had already left when Rukia awoke, though she noted that a second blanket had been draped over her. She got ready and left for school.

Orihime and Tatsuki greeted her warmly as they met at the front gate. They all chattered about random nonsense, silently glad that the heavy atmosphere of yesterday was gone.

They met up with Sado and Ishida by their classroom.

"So, Rukia," Inoue said, "Is Kurosaki-kun running late today?"

Rukia looked quizzical. "Huh? Isn't he here already? He left before I even woke up."

A tense silence loomed over the group.

Uryu broke the silence. "He'll show up." Silently, the Quincy did a quick scan to see if he could sense Ichigo anywhere, but the whole town was so saturated with his energy that it was impossible to pin him down.

Everyone nodded in agreement, trying to stave off their unease. This was a break in the usual cycle and everyone noticed.

By lunch, it was getting harder and harder to push back against the anxieties concerning their missing friend.

"Did something happen at home?" Inoue pondered.

Rukia shook her head. "No, but... his dad asked me to keep an eye on him. He was worried."

"He's not the only one" Tatsuki grumbled, clenching her fist "Somebody's gotta punch some sense into him."

"We'll look for him after school" Sado offered.

They agreed to break up and search the town in sections. Rukia and Orihime headed over to the graveyard while Sado and Tatsuki searched along the river. Uryu, having greater mobility due to his Quincy powers, jumped from here to there, trying to see if the substitute soul reaper's energy was stronger in any specific direction. He finally was able to lock onto it, leading him to a forest clearing just outside of the town.

Uryu stopped, shoulders hunched and panting. Ichigo's back was to him, seeming to be completely oblivious to the new presence.

"So this is where you've been, huh?" Uryu called.

There was a pause. Ichigo heaved a sigh, begrudgingly acknowledging the Quincy. "What do you want?" He asked flatly.

Uryu scoffed, "LIke you care. Everyone's been running all over town trying to find you, and you've just been here, _sulking_."

"Great, you found me. Now you can leave." Ichigo said icily.

"No."

Ichigo tensed

"I'm not just going to turn around and leave you to wallow in your self-pity. I've had enough of this. We all have." Uryu bit out.

An edge of anger seemed into Ichigo's voice to match Uryu's tone, "Leave me alone."

"I said no. You're always doing this; whenever anything bothers you, you run." Uryu ground his teeth together, why did his friend have to be so frustratingly stubborn. "Rescuing Inoue, dealing with your Hollow, getting your powers back. How many times have you run off to deal with problems by yourself?"

"Lay off it, all those examples worked out." Ichigo muttered.

"Only because everyone else stepped in to save you. And now you're doing it run off and we're all forced to deal with all of this. Every year we put up with your pity act, and I'm sick and tired of it. So quit acting like a spoiled child and grow up."

The words struck a chord in Ichigo and he reeled around, grabbing Uryu roughly by the collar of his shirt. "You don't even know what you're talking about! I've lost so much that you couldn't even begin to imagine!" He shouted.

The Quincy's eyes blazed in defiance, "At least you still have the rest of your family!" He shouted back in uncharacteristic anger.

Ichigo was taken aback for a second, releasing his grip on the other's shirt.

"You're not the only person who has lost someone okay!?" He took a bold step forward, spurred on by uncharacteristic anger. "Chad lost his grandfather, Keigo only lives with his sister and even they don't get along very well." He forced his jaw to unclench. "and look at Inoue: she lost both her parents _and_ her brother and does she mope about it constantly? No. She doesn't want her emotions getting in the way of everyone else's happiness. I've lost my mom too. You don't get a monopoly on sadness!"

Ichigo just blinked at him, unsure of how to react to the sudden outburst.

The Quincy crossed his arms, "Look, I know things are hard, but you can't keep running like this. Half the class was worried sick when you didn't show up.

"...sorry. I forgot that your mom also..." Ichigo's voice was low.

Uryu shrugged, "I was three when it happened, as harsh as it sounds I never really knew her." In truth, he could barely remember her face. The most he knew about her was from what he had managed to piece together from a handful of photographs and a few stories from his grandfather. His father never spoke of her.

A chill wind blew through the clearing.

Ichigo sighed, "Well... as usual you're right. Sorry I worried everyone."

The two nodded at each other, Ishida knowing that humility wasn't one of Ichigo's main traits. Nevertheless, it seemed his words had an impact. "It's getting late. We should head back."

"Yeah. Oh and Uryu?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks."


End file.
